This Is What Pride Looks Like: Trans Liberation Is the Work of Now

Pride began as a riot—an uprising led by trans women of color who refused to be silent in the face of state violence. In 1969, trans and queer people, like Stormé DeLaverie and Marsha P. Johnson, pushed back against police brutality at Stonewall, and that spirit of resistance reverberates through every act of organizing today.

As LGBTQ+ communities, especially trans people of color, continue to be targeted by hateful policies and political scapegoating, it is more important than ever to meet this moment with the clarity, creativity, and courage our movements demand. Just today, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Tennessee to enforce a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth—an alarming sign of how far the rollback of basic rights can go under extremist pressure.

Below, we highlight a few of our grantee partners who are building power, shifting narratives, and creating safety and possibility in the face of repression.

Gender Liberation Movement

The Gender Liberation Movement (GLM) is a dynamic national collective born from powerful grassroots actions, including the Brooklyn Liberation Marches of 2020 and 2021. Volunteer-run and lean, GLM centers bodily autonomy, self-determination, the pursuit of fulfillment, and collective care in the face of growing threats to gender freedoms.

In September 2024, GLM made history in Washington, D.C., spearheading the inaugural Gender Liberation March, bringing together thousands to defend abortion access, gender-affirming care, and democratic rights against Project 2025. The march featured high-profile speakers like Elliot Page, Miss Major, and Raquel Willis and wove cultural expression—art tents, youth drag showcases, memorial spaces—into its organizing strategy.

GLM continues to build momentum through bold actions and education. Their campaign against bathroom bans included protests outside Speaker Mike Johnson’s office. They’ve elevated the experiences of trans youth and their families, featured in Vogue, and launched vital community spaces like Affirming Parents and monthly EmPOWERed Youth gatherings. This spring, they joined forces with the Trans Youth Emergency Project for a Trans Week of Visibility in Action.

Looking ahead, GLM continues driving direct-action strategies—from mass mobilizations to public art installations and rapid-response interventions—grounded in cultural resilience and policy advocacy. They are building a fierce, intergenerational movement for Black, Brown, trans, and queer liberation, leading with courage, creativity, and conviction.

Freedom, Inc.

Freedom, Inc., a Black and Southeast Asian queer-led organization, is organizing at the frontlines of the fight against gender-based violence, anti-Blackness, and transphobia. Their mission is to advance social justice by combining direct services, like crisis intervention, bi-weekly support groups, housing support, and legal aid, with leadership development and grassroots organizing that challenges the root causes of violence, poverty, racism, and discrimination.

This spring, Freedom, Inc. brought its civic engagement wings to Wisconsin’s frontlines, playing a critical role amid one of the most high-profile judicial elections in the country. Through on-the-ground outreach, they helped inform and mobilize historically excluded voters—particularly Black, Southeast Asian, queer, and gender-nonconforming communities—around reproductive justice, racial equity, LGBTQ+ rights, and labor protections.

By ensuring these voters had access to trusted information, resources, and logistical help, Freedom, Inc.’s work reinforced democracy and protected vital rights. Their approach—”Our community is our campaign”—centers collective power and cultural resilience to transform civic participation into long-term liberation.

Lavender Phoenix

Lavender Phoenix is a visionary grassroots organization building queer and trans Asian and Pacific Islander (QTAPI) power in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 2004, they’ve championed transformative social change for LGBTQ+ API people, growing into a multigenerational movement leader for justice and self-determination.

This spring, Lavender Phoenix re-launched a Trans API Peer Counseling Program offering free culturally grounded mental health support by-and-for trans and nonbinary API counselors, which was part of a broader Healing Justice initiative designed to counter isolation and trauma within their communities. They’ve also expanded leadership development with the 16th year of their Summer Organizer Program, which has trained dozens of young QTAPI organizers in feminist, values-based organizing techniques and collective care practices.

Their work is interwoven with cultural and ecological healing. Through programs like the Dragon Fruit Project—an oral history initiative celebrating QTAPI lineage—and their historical organizing in ecological justice, Lavender Phoenix blends community storytelling, interdependence, and political education into a holistic model of liberation.

Trans and queer liberation is central to the fight for justice. This Pride Month, honor the legacy of resistance by supporting the people and organizations carrying it forward every day. These organizations are actively building power, protection, and possibility—not just for trans and LGBQ+ communities, but for all of us.